Chandigarh, April 15
Even as the Plastic Surgery Department of the PGI conducts over 350 cleft lip and palate surgeries every year, with a large number of patients from all over the northern region coming here, patients have to wait for almost six months for their turn.
With one child out of every 3000 in India being born with this congenital defect, the waiting list of all those approaching the PGI for the surgery is very long. “With this deformity of the lips and palate, the child often becomes target of ridicule by his peer group, resulting in the child getting a complex,” explained Dr R.K. Sharma of the department.
He said even though some of the cases were done on a priority basis, seeing the large number of children the waiting period could be at least six months. “It is a team work comprising a plastic surgeon, orthodontist, anaesthetist and speech therapist, who work together to handle such cases,” explained Dr Sharma.
Doctors say that the surgery for cleft lip should be undertaken at the earliest, as the results are best when the child is small.
While the outside lips are repaired at the age of three months, the palate job is done when the child is about one year. “As the child grows older, regular check-ups are important as at times the face may get depressed,” said Dr Sharma.
He pointed out that almost 90 per cent of the work being done at the department was of reconstruction but keeping in mind the latest advancements, cosmetic aspect of plastic surgery was also being taken care of.
Dr Sharma said patients were approaching them not just for removal of deformities but for better looks. “The earlier impression that plastic surgery was only for the elite, has changed drastically as even ordinary people like labourers come to us,” said Dr Sharma.
The number of patients who come to the PGI to get the shape of their nose changed only reaffirms the fact that good looks add to the confidence of the person. “It might sound strange but people with parrot beak nose, saddle nose, crooked nose or broad nose come to plastic surgeons as they simply do not like the shape of their nose,” said Dr Sharma.
In some of the patients suffering from cancer, especially of the nose and lips, the entire part has to be reconstructed, which involves series of operations.
In many patients, especially from the lower-income group, it had been witnessed that the tissue around the mouth gets destroyed, which can only be reconstructed with the surgery.
